Children’s Mental Health Week: “- Grow Yourself”

The second part of this year’s motto encourages children and young people to improve their own mental health, take responsibility and build resilience.

Can we expect children to take responsibility for their own mental health?

The short answer? Absolutely!
As adults in their lives we have a responsibility to model positive behaviour and equip them with tools they will need as they grow older.
But, as with any skill, the goal is for them to require less support and use these strategies more independently as they grow up.
By giving them age-appropriate tools and encouraging them to use them increasingly independently, they slowly build essential skills needed to become resilient adults.

But what are some things that can promote our mental health?
Every person is different, and something that may work for one person may not work for another at all. Trying them out and finding out what works for you is an essential part of growing up.

Healthy food doesn’t just make our body healthy, it is also absolutely essential for brain health.
Our brains use an incredible amount of energy daily. In fact, an average brain uses more energy in a day than would be needed to power 100 smartphones! This energy comes from the food we eat. And it’s not just energy. Here are some nutrients that have been found to be particularly essential to maintain a healthy brain:

Protein: amino acids in proteins help our brains produce neurotransmitters, the main messengers responsible for how we think and feel.
Omega-3 fatty acids: this super-nutrient found in seafood and nuts has been linked to learning, memory, cognitive well-being and blood-flow in the brain
B-Vitamins: this vitamin found in a wide variety of food has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, help our nervous system regulate itself and increase our energy

Especially for children, getting the right nutrients is absolutely essential for healthy brain development.
Not every child is willing or able to eat everything, but encouraging them to try foods that will be good for their health and explaining to them why it is good for them can help them make healthy eating choices later on!

Regular exercise and activity can be an incredible boost to a child’s mental health. Being active releases endorphins, the same chemicals that help us feel better when we’re stressed or hurt.
Engaging in sports or going for a nature walk increases the amount of endorphins in our brain, which in turn can make us feel better, reduce stress and promote good mental health.

And not just that! Being active can also help sleep better, which is super important for children and young people’s bodies and brains to develop healthily.

Talking about mental health can be difficult. Sometimes it may seem like it is a topic best avoided as to not upset someone, or maybe because we simply don’t know what to say.
Encouraging talking about feelings early on, even those we’d rather avoid, can support children to learn the importance of talking about it and working it out rather than internalising issues and possibly developing unhealthy ways of coping if they are not feeling good.

Luckily, there are plenty of resources out there to facilitate conversation and help us have an open and healthy mind:

NHS – Every Mind Matters – Looking after a child or young person’s mental health
YoungMinds – How to talk to your child about mental health
BBC – How can you talk with your child about mental health?
Mind – How can I open up to friends and family?
Child Mind Institute – How to Support a Friend Who is Struggling
Mindful – Mindfulness for Kids

Besides knowing how to talk about mental health, surrounding ourselves with people we like and trust is important for good mental health.
Loneliness among young people has been associated with poor mental health outcomes, so checking in with friends and family is good not just for the child but their friends and family, too!

Who says promoting positive mental health has to follow a strict blueprint? Everyone has different methods and strategies that make them feel better, even if those methods can seem “silly” at first!
I asked our staff what the silliest things are that make them feel better, here are some of their answers:

“Lying on the floor! Having all that space above me really puts things into perspective!”
“I like to sing and dance around!”
“I act silly to make other people happy! Cheering them up cheers me up!”
“The way I talk to my dogs!”

Finding something that makes you happy and promotes your mental health is a wonderful thing, no matter how silly it might seem. If it works and it does no harm, ask yourself: Why not?

With the right strategies in place and some guidance children can take charge of their mental health and grow into resilient adults, that will be able to tackle the ups and downs of life!

With mental health week coming to an end it’s important to remember that we should pay attention to the mental wellbeing of children and young people for more than just one week a year.
Over 400.000 children receive support for mental health problems every month in the UK alone and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that no child has to suffer in silence.